"'Lena," she heard someone whisper her name as her eyes started to flutter open.

Everything was a bit of a blurr, the large spotlights merged into one and the voices around her all seemed to mumble. She clenched her toes and her shoulders as she came too, and then squeezed her fingers as tightly as she could.

She'd been drifting in and out of sleep for a while. There wasn't much that she remembered other than talking to Uncle John and queuing to buy a ticket back home, but after seeing so much blood and passing out, everything else was just white noise.

There'd been so much blood and the pain was excruciating. She didn't want to open her eyes because that made it real. She wasn't ready to hear that she'd lost her, their baby. Was any woman ever ready to hear that? So she knew that the moment she opened her eyes, a doctor would come and tell her how sorry they were and that it wasn't anything she did. There wasn't anything she could have done. She wasn't ready to let go.

A warm and comforting hand gripped hers tightly, a thumb rubbing gentle circles over hers.

"'Lena," they whispered again. "Can you hear me?"

She rolled her head to the side and finally caught his gaze. He had a soft smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eye. She was dreaming, surely. Damon. It'd been three very long months since they had last seen each other and he was meant to be saying 'I do' any moment now.

"I'm here, beautiful," he smiled and reached down to press a soothing kiss on her forehead. "I'm here."

"Damon," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry-"

"Shh, shh, don't you even dare," he cut her off. "I don't ever want to hear you say that word, okay? Not now. Not ever."

She knew they had a lot to talk about and she had so many questions. Why was he here? Was he married? How did he know where she was? And while she wanted her answers, nothing else mattered if she'd lost their baby.

"The baby," she panicked. "Please no… Damon… no. Have I..Is the baby…"

Hyperventilation kicked in as she tried to catch her breath. She could feel her heart thunder against her rib cage and she cradled her bump.

"'Lena, breathe, baby," he said as he stroked her hair and held her hand tighter. "The baby is fine. The baby is perfectly fine, but you need to calm down and rest."

"There was so much blood."

"I know," he said. "I know."

"How do you know? How the hell are you here?" She said, "And what is wrong with me? Is my baby okay?"

Before he could answer one of her many questions, the doctor knocked on her room door and slipped in with a couple of nurses beside him. Damon reached across the bed and shook his hand and smiled politely at the nurses.

"Ms. Gilbert, I'm Dr Davids. How are you feeling?" The doctor asked.

"Confused and a bit sick," she shrugged. "Is my baby okay?"

"Your baby is doing perfectly fine. You, however, have a uterine infection which has spread-"

Elena cut off as the doctor was talking and gazed up at Damon. He was listening intently, nodding and asking questions that she wouldn't have even thought of. How had he found her? She looked at his hand and there was no ring, so he couldn't have been married.

"So we're going to run you on a course of strong antibiotics to help fight the infection. Because of the type of infection you have, we do want to see you more regularly for ultrasounds. We need to keep a close eye on you and your baby, Ms. Gilbert," the doctor explained. "And I can't stress this enough - rest. Rest. And more rest."

"Trust me, she won't be doing anything strenuous for the next four months," Damon scoffed. "Can she fly?"

"I don't recommend it right now. Are you here on holiday?"

"I live here," Elena stuttered. "Will my baby be okay?"

"This type of infection can be dangerous to an unborn child, which is why we want to monitor you closely for the rest of your pregnancy. But I don't want you to panic, we have caught the infection early, we are treating it and your baby isn't showing any signs of infection - which is great, okay?" The doctor smiled reassuringly. "So the plan is to keep you overnight and get you started on antibiotics. We will run another scan on your baby in the morning and you will need to come for scans every two weeks for the last four months for monitoring and regular blood tests."

"But the baby-"

"Is okay," the doctor repeated. "In most cases with women who have this infection, they don't carry to term and go into labour early or we have to induce labour early for safety of both you and your child, but that isn't something to think about now. We just need to focus on getting you better."

"Thank you, doctor," Damon said. "We really appreciate it."

The doctor left and Damon fell back into the chair in relief. She hadn't noticed it before, but he had dark purple bags hanging beneath his eyes and his hair was a mess. His clothes were skeewiff and there was a packed bag sitting in the corner of the room.

She let go of that breath she'd been unknowingly holding on to. She pressed her hands against her bump and smiled. She'd suffered through a lot had Elena Gilbert, but nothing had ever scared her as much as the thought of losing her little boy or girl.

"So," she spoke shyly. "I'm pregnant."

"So I've heard," he smirked. "I'm going to go out on a ledge here and assume that he or she is mine."

"There's never been anybody else, Damon. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you but-"

"I get it," he cut her off. "And I know you tried to tell me."

"I really wanted to. It broke my heart to leave without you knowing but, Damon, I don't want my child to have to compete with Katherine's and I definitely don't want my child knowing they will take second place and have to hide in the shadows," she stressed. "Katherine's baby will be a Salvatore and they will get all the benefits that come with that. How is my baby ever going to keep up?"

"Katherine isn't pregnant, 'Lena. She never was. Funnily enough, she found your pregnancy test on the bathroom floor and claimed it as her own. So I grew a pair and I left her."

"Oh Damon," she breathed and reached out for him. "I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

"Not really - no," she smiled. "She's sick. She's fucking twisted."

He laughed and gently lifted her hands to his lips. Softly, he rested his lips against her cold skin and closed his eyes as he took in her scent. This was his home. She had always been his home but he had been too scared to ask her to open the door and let him in.

She turned her hands to hold his and brought them to her belly, where she rested his palms against the swollen skin. It rose and fell with her breath but the most amazing thing happened once his skin connected with hers.

A kick. It was faint but the light in Damon's eye shone as he felt it.

"You're going to be a dad, Damon," she whispered. "Our baby is real. They were made out of love and no matter what happens between us, they will love you so much. This is real."

"'Lena, when I got here and Jenna told me you were at the hospital, I thought-," he dropped his head. "I thought I got here too late. I was terrified that you'd lost our baby and that I never got the chance to tell you how happy I was."

"You're happy? You promise?"

"When Katherine told me it was your pregnancy test, everything fell into perspective. 'Lena, I should have left her the moment I laid eyes on you and I'm sorry for not realising it sooner."

"Realising what?"

"That a life in prison knowing I chose you and got to love and be loved by you, even if for the shortest of time, is infinitely better than a free life without you," he smiled. "And I know none of this is better for you because I'm sure Katherine has already gone to the police with the camera footage, but no matter what happens, even if you hate me right now, I will make sure that you and our baby are cared for and provided for."

A smile spread across her lips. She knew they had a lot of things to work out and they weren't going to jump straight into happy families. Their journey to this very moment had been bumby and winding, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel and maybe, just maybe, they could get there together.

"I love you, 'Lena. I have from the moment we met and I love our baby. So if there is a glimmer of hope of having a second, third, fifth chance to build a life with you then I will grab it with both hands because I've not wanted anything more. And it's selfish of me to ask you to spend your life with a man who's probably going to be behind bars but I think-"

"Do you know what I was doing as I collapsed?" She asked and he shook his head. "I was in the queue to buy a plane ticket back home. I was coming to try and stop your wedding."

"Really?" He laughed. "Why?"

"Because whether or not you chose to be with me, you deserve to be free, Damon, and you deserve to be happy. You deserve to know the truth."

"What truth? What are you talking about?"

"My Uncle John was the Chief Investigating Officer the night of the crash on the bridge. Damon, nobody died that night. In fact, the whole family is living happily in Chicago. There wasn't even a single broken bone in that car," she explained. "Damon, she's been lying to you this entire time. You are innocent."

He pushed back violently from the bed, knocking the chair over as he did. His back slammed against the wall as his hand crashed to his mouth. Hot, salty tears pooled in his eyes as his heart began to race. He clenched every muscle as he pushed himself further into the wall.

"Are you sure?" He managed to stutter.

"She's a teacher, he's a blogger and the kid just got a scholarship to an Ivy League. John told me earlier and I was coming to tell you before I blacked out in a pile of my own icky blood."

There'd been times where he'd had his doubts about what happened that night, but he'd truly believed Katherine wouldn't sink THAT low. That wasn't cruel or evil, that was the work of the devil. Katherine truly had no heart and he'd played the victim in her game for far too long.

He'd believed that he had taken a life and it had tortured him. He'd dreamt of the man he'd thought he'd killed and he'd dreamt of his son every night for far too many years. It'd taken over his everyday life, impacted him in ways he could never talk about. He did things he desperately didn't want to do out of fear of spending a life behind bars for nothing. It'd all been for nothing.

He'd wasted so many days and lost so many things, given up on so many dreams.

Without a word, he launched forward and crashed his lips to hers. He held her face tightly in place as he finally let himself feel everything he'd been holding in for so long. It took her a few seconds but her hands surely reached up to cup his cheeks and she gave in to him.

"Be with me," he whispered against her lips. "Be with me in all the ways that matter. Move in with me, marry me, grow your family with me. Be with me."

"Damon-"

"I love you and if that means sleeping in separate beds while you learn to trust me again and waiting five years until you're ready to be a Salvatore then I will do it. I will wait. I don't care how long I have to wait but I have wasted so much of my life and lost so much, but-"

"Okay," she smiled.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

The doctor kept Elena in hospital for an extra couple of days as the antibiotics took time to kick-in. She was desperate to sleep in her own bed, but she was grateful for the many ultrasounds and blood tests, it helped keep peace of mind that their baby was doing just fine.

Damon had slept in the chair every night, left to shower, and came back to eat. She was seldom alone for longer than an hour. He pestered all the staff with any questions he had, no matter how unimportant or silly they were, and he kept her family updated for her.

Every now and then, when he drifted off to sleep in the chair, she wondered how he was truly coping. She expected the mask to slip at any point and for him to freak out, realise what had happened and run a mile. While he kept saying he wanted to grow and be with her, a little voice in the back of her head told her to keep her walls up because pain was inevitable.

"And we're home," Damon grinned as he opened the door to one of his London apartments.

The doctor's had advised her not to fly home before the baby was born and so Damon had taken it upon himself to turn one of his apartments into a home that she would love and feel comfortable in.

It was beautiful, she thought. Bigger than anything she could have ever imagined living in. It had huge floor to ceiling windows that looked over St James' Park and a stunning, rustic style kitchen.

As she was taking it all in, he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her belly and gently pressed a kiss on her cheek.

"Is it okay?" He asked. "You've been very quiet all the way here."

"It's beautiful, Damon. It really is."

"I feel like there's a but coming," he sighed. "So say it and tell me what's going on."

She turned to face him and gave him an honest smile. She did love him and she was so beyond happy that he was there with her and that he was excited over their baby, but there was a pit in her stomach and a voice in her head that was keeping her from letting go.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "This is all just… very quick. I'm happy but I'm not sure, Damon. Just a week ago you were planning your wedding to another woman and having a baby with her and now… you're saying this is our home. My head is so confused."

"I've told you where I stand, Elena."

"I know," she nodded. "And I promise I believe you when you tell me you love me, but if you hadn't found that website on Katherine's laptop, you'd have married her."

"Elena—"

"And now you're here playing happy families with me. You've not even mentioned the family that went over the bridge after what I told you."

"What do you want me to say?" He snapped. "That I was a coward? That I've spent most of my adult life under the thumb? That I massively fucked up? Do you want me to tell you that I was terrified of spending my life in prison? What part do you want me to tell you about?!"

"I just feel that you're saying all the things you think I want to hear and not what you're really thinking," she shrugged. "Just be honest with me. Stop sugarcoating how you're feeling."

"I'm feeling like a fucking coward. I'm feeling less like a man than I've ever felt, 'Lena."

He pulled away from her and fell back on the sofa. Dropping his head back, she rubbed his hands across his tired eyes and groaned. He was shattered, she could see that. He was pale and worn down.

"I've fucked up massively, Elena. I mean can you imagine if Katherine was pregnant? I'd have my assistant in London who was carrying my child and my fiance in America carrying my child. I'd have no fucking clue about one of them," he laughed almost sarcastically. "I've dreamt about a man I thought I'd killed everyday of my life since it happened just to find out that he is blogging about sodding dieting and weightlifting in Chicago."

"Damon-"

"And to top it off, I let the woman I love fly halfway across the world while I openly admitted to choosing another woman over her because I was scared, okay? I was terrified of going to jail for murder! I am a coward, Elena. So there - that's how I'm really feeling."

She shuffled out of her coat and rested it down on the family dining table. She sat down beside him on the couch and took his hands from his face, and once again, she placed them on her belly. In that moment, she realised something. He never chose Katherine over her.

"We don't think you're a coward. In fact, we think you're pretty brave to give up everything you wanted to keep your father and your best friend safe," she said. "And I don't think you chose Katherine over me really. You chose Alaric and you chose your father."

He'd have left Katherine much sooner, she knew that, if it was only him at risk. But it wasn't. It never had just been Damon's life in Katherine's hands, she was playing with Ric and Giuseppe too.

"You've spent the past god knows how long giving up everything you wanted for them," she said to him but mostly to herself. "It was never about Katherine. It was about being a good friend and an even better son."

"I don't know how to process what you told me about the accident. I've accepted who I am and what I did but now to be told that isn't who I am," he paused.

"That's never who you were, Damon," she frowned. "That was a bad decision and a terrible mistake, but not who you are. This is who you are. An amazing friend, a good son, a loving partner, a hard-working businessman and a bloody fantastic father-to-be. And if that isn't enough, I've got a list of plenty more adjectives I can use."

He ran his hands through her hair and gently moved it to cascade down her shoulders. She was the perfect woman and he found himself loving her even more now that she was carrying a bit of him. While he wanted to give her the world, he didn't blame her for finding their new world a bit daunting.

Despite him battling the demons inside, his feelings about Elena hadn't changed. He was madly in love with her and he wanted to give her the world. There was no doubt about that. The next few days, weeks and maybe months were going to be tricky, for the both of them, but he only saw light at the end of the tunnel for them. He didn't know what else he could say to make things clearer for her.

"I've made some huge mistakes in my life, Elena, but being with you and making this baby with you - that wasn't one of them," he said. "Yes, I chose Katherine to save myself, Ric and my father. But, I found you in that bar on New Year's Eve after Katherine cheated on me. I walked into my office after a shit day and found you waiting for an interview. Elena, I was hours away from getting married and yet I ended up on a plane here to London to you. I always find my way to you."

"I'm worried you're just saying that because-"

"No, 'Lena," he cut her off. "I don't care about what has happened in the past because that was then and this is now. And if the past is a place without you and me together, then… stop living in it."

She didn't need to hear anything else from him. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his, taking him by surprise, and smiled against him as he finally let his shoulders relax. He held her close to him as he allowed himself to melt into her warmth. He wanted nothing more than to pull her dress over her head and carry her to their bedroom, but he managed to just about control himself.

"I love you," she whispered as he attacked her cheek, jawline and neck with ferocious kisses.

As he pulled away to tell her how much he loved her, a banging on the front door echoed through the apartment.

He opened the door to three uniformed police officers with stern looking faces.

"Damon Salvatore?" One asked.

"Yes, how can I help you?" He replied reluctantly.

Elena stood up and came behind him. She pressed her hands against the flat of his back and gripped on to his belt.

"What's going on?" She asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Damon Salvatore, you are under arrest on suspicion of embezzlement. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."